September 25, 2010 - The Commerce Commission has granted clearance for Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S to merge its New Zealand cigar, pipe tobacco and accessories businesses with that of Swedish Match AB. The clearance is given subject to the merged entity divesting the Willem cigar brand.

Background

Scandinavian Tobacco (ST) is a privately owned Danish company involved in the manufacture and supply of tobacco and associated products. In New Zealand it supplies cigars and pipe tobacco.

Commerce Commission Chair Dr Mark Berry said the Commission was satisfied that the proposed acquisition would not have the effect, or likely effect, of substantially lessening competition in the national markets for the import and supply of cigars and pipe tobacco.The Commission considers that, while the merger would give rise to a significant aggregation of market share in respect of cigars, the divestment of the Willem brand to an independent party will be sufficient to remedy the loss of competition the cigar market.

Because Swedish Match already distributes Scandinavian Tobacco’s pipe tobacco brand in New Zealand, the merger will not materially alter the level of competition in the pipe tobacco market.

September 25, 2010 - With an eye on the upcoming elections on November 2nd, Altria’s tobacco operating companies have launched a voter education and awareness campaign for their adult tobacco consumers.

Philip Morris USA, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company and John Middleton will each be reaching out to many of their adult consumers stressing the importance of voting and encouraging them to make their voices heard on November 2nd. These efforts are designed to help adult consumers register to vote and participate in the fall elections.

According to Bruce Gates, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, Altria Client Services, “We’ve heard from adult consumers that they want to get more involved in shaping the political environment by joining with others across the country – many of whom are becoming politically active for the first time.”

Adult consumers can go to www.tobaccoissues.com/wevote2010, which includes user-friendly information about every state’s voter registration process, polling locations, and candidates for state and federal offices.

But whether you are smoker or non-smoker the question here is whether the ban will affect business at BAT and Imperial. The answer, almost certainly, is no.

We can expect the disappearance of one marketing channel to be replaced by others, notably via social networking sites such as Facebook and at major music events.Several of the UK's biggest festivals have allowed tobacco firms to sell their products on site. East London's Lovebox festival was co-sponsored by Imperial Tobacco's Rizla rolling paper, which is exempt from the ban on tobacco advertising.An Imperial spokesman said the brand had sponsored a number of festivals. "It's all part of creating brand awareness and it's entirely legitimate." (Tobacco companies - sophisticated marketing techniques: music concerts, social networking..)

Statement highlights: * The American Heart Association advises against smokeless tobacco products for smoking cessation – they are not a “safe” alternative to smoking. * Long-term use of smokeless tobacco products increases the odds of suffering a fatal heart attack or fatal stroke, according to analysis of several studies.

Please note: The bulk of the American Heart Association revenue comes from individual contributions, accounting for 46.0 percent, while contributions from corporations account for 27.9 percent. Some of these corporations are pharmaceutical companies and some of these market nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) medications.Read more...

Directive 2001/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2001 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products.

The Commission says EU citizens, economic operators, non governmental organisations and relevant national authorities are welcome to participate in the consultation. The deadline for submissions is November 19, 2010.

September 24, 2010 - Tasmania is an Australian island and state. Burnie City Council, on the island state's northwest coast, has unanimously passed a resolution supporting a "complete ban on the sale and use of tobacco products in Tasmania".

And if total bans are not possible, the council says government should instead ban smoking inside private homes where a child or dependent person is present, plus in "any outdoor area attached to a personal living space".

Anti-tobacco lobby group ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) says the council's position is unique in Australia, though it is though it is similar to the tough stance taken by New Zealand's Maori party. "It is certainly a first, that I am aware of, for Australia," said ASH Australia chief executive Anne Jones.

The resolution, passed at a council meeting on Tuesday, September 21st noted that total bans were the "ultimate and courageous solution" though they were "unlikely to be popular within the smoking community or with those economically reliant upon tobacco products".

The council was responding to a call for input on a discussion paper released by the Tasmanian government, which proposes a range of reforms to curb the state's above-average smoking rates, but which does not go as far as the action sought by the council. (Tasmania - Investment in Tobacco Control 2009-2010)

Tasmania Department of Health and Human Services: Proposed tobacco laws discussion paper The government is accepting feedback on its tobacco reform discussion paper until October 1, 2010.In a written statement on Thursday, September 23rd Burnie Mayor Alvwyn Boyd said the council otherwise supported the government's proposed reforms. "We are passionate and concerned about health in our region," Mr Boyd also said. I feel that taking a strong stance on the effects of tobacco will hopefully lead Burnie and the state to a healthier outcome."

Tasmania has the nation's second highest smoking rate, only behind the Northern Territory, with 24.9 percent of Tasmanians either daily (23.3 percent) or occasional (1.6 percent) smokers.

Ms Jones said she expected to see rising calls from governments for "really serious" action to cut smoking, because they were facing ballooning health costs linked to smoking-related diseases. We are starting to see governments act out of frustration, and fear, that we haven't done enough to prevent the preventable diseases. Our health system is in dire straits and we have an unaffordable smoking rate ... and Tasmania has the most unaffordable smoking rate."

The Tasmanian government said it welcomed the council's "strong support for tougher tobacco control measures". "The council's views will inform the consultation process we've got underway," Tasmanian Health Minister Michelle O'Byrne said.

September 24, 2010 - Australian rock bands Wolfmother and The Vines have come under fire for agreeing to play a Jakarta music festival sponsored by a major Indonesian tobacco company. Both bands announced this week they would perform at next month's Java Rockin'Land festival, set to be one of the biggest music events of the year in the Indonesian capital. But anti-smoking campaigners say if the bands do perform they will effectively be promoting its major sponsor, Indonesian cigarette maker Gudang Garam (Indonesian for "salt warehouse") a major Indonesian kretek (clove cigarette) manufacturer.

Wolfmother To Play Indonesia

23 September 2010

Wolfmother will be playing at Java Rockin’land Festival on October 10th. This one is for the fans in Indonesia who have parted with their very own cold hard cash to see Wolfmother. We realize their are sponsors and we neither support or condemn the sponsors affiliated with the festival. We are very much looking forward to what we hope will be the first of many shows to come in Indonesia.

Australian alternative rock band noted for producing a musical hybrid of '60s rock and '90s alternative music, THE VINES, are confirmed to perform at Gudang Garam InterMusic Java Rockin'land 2010.

THE VINES will be performing on Sunday, 10 October 2010.

Sydney Medical School's director of research Simon Chapman has urged the bands to reconsider. "If the artists put their foot down, the event organisers will get rid of the tobacco sponsorship," Chapman told AAP on Thursday, September 23rd.

Photo by: Graham Hughes for National Post..September 23, 2010 - Started on Saturday, September 19th a five-part National Post series by Tom Blackwell takes readers inside the Mohawk-dominated contraband business and its spinoffs, and through the prickly politics that has allowed it to flourish for almost a decade.

September 23, 2010 - The Victoria state government has committed to cut adult smokers by 25 per cent. But a spokeswoman for the Health Minister refused to comment on whether the government supported a stronger stance on outdoor smoking at restaurants. "We are focussed on delivering the key element of our last round of tobacco reforms which is banning the display of tobacco products at non-specialist businesses," she said. (Interesting read: Why the tobacco industry fears point of sale display bans, T Harper, Tob Control. 2006 June; 15(3): 270–271 - FULL TEXT) "Victoria is the first jurisdiction to set a tobacco target to drive down the number of adult smokers by 25 per cent."

Opposition health spokesman David Davis said the Coalition will look "favourably" at the Australian Medical Association (AMA's) proposal to extend the smoking bans. The State Opposition is expected to announce a series of strong anti-smoking policy positions ahead of the November 27 state election.An online poll today showed readers of heraldsun.com.au would support a ban on outdoor smoking. It came as as a peak medical lobby group called on Victoria to ban smoking in outdoor dining areas, after new laws in Western Australia took effect this week.

An online poll of more than 1000 people found 60.08 percent of readers backed the idea spruiked (embellished to make more appealing or acceptable) by the AMA. AMA Victoria president Dr Harry Hemley says after showing leadership in anti-tobacco legislation. Dr Hemley called on the state government and opposition to offer anti-tobacco strategies ahead of the November poll.

Dr Hemley: "A ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas would strengthen the message to the community that smoking is no longer viewed as normal, but is an unnecessary and unhealthy habit."

September 23, 2010 - An increase in tobacco taxes by 25 percent across Australia took effect at midnight on April 29, 2010. The tax increase will raise the price of a pack of 30 cigarettes by around A$2.16. Cigarettes currently cost around A$12 to A$15 a packet, depending on the brand, 1.00 A = 0.95 USD. Mr. Rudd said he hopes to use the A$5 billion from the higher cigarette taxes to fund public hospitals. (Australia - tobacco tax increase now in force, next comes plain tobacco packaging..)

Two months after the tax increase, a Galaxy survey of 1258 smokers found 38 percent had tried to give up, compared with 29 percent in the three months before the price rise. A further 29 per cent had cut down and 9 per cent had stopped.Flinders University smoking cessation expert Associate Professor John Litt said the Government should consider further price rises. "It appears this move was the right one when it comes to trying to reduce smoking levels in this country," he said yesterday.

"According to this research, increasing the cost of cigarettes even higher would provide further benefits to our nation's public health. "As many as 68 percent would try to quit if the price hit $25 per pack (of 20) and only 16 percent would continue to smoke at any price. "This should be considered by our nation's leaders."

In July, the Australian Medical Association SA called for the Federal Government to go further and raise the price to $1 a cigarette.

One in five smokers responded to the price rise by stockpiling packs, buying on average four weeks' supply in advance.

Photo by: Pha Lina September 23, 2010 - The Health Ministry has ramped up efforts to enforce a new sub-decree making it mandatory for all cigarettes sold in the Kingdom to feature written health warnings, issuing letters to an undisclosed number of firms that were not yet in compliance, an official said yesterday.

Khun Sokrin, director of the ministry’s National Health Promotion Centre, said that “most, but not all” tobacco manufacturers and importers had fulfilled the terms of the sub-decree, which went into effect on July 20. Health Minister Mam Bunheng said at the end of last month that few firms were in compliance.

Background: The Council of Ministers approved a sub-decree on Friday, August 14th that will require health warnings to be printed on the outside of cigarette packages. Under the presidency of Prime Minister Hun Sen, the council released a statement saying that the purpose of these warnings will be "to educate people, especially children and housewives, about the consequences of smoking, and to counter any deceiving advertisements from tobacco companies". (Cambodia - now favors text only warnings on cigarette packs..)

The Health Ministry on Wednesday, January 20th unveiled mandatory text-only cigarette warnings that all manufacturers and importers will need to include on packages sold in the Kingdom beginning in July 2010, a regulation that has disappointed public health workers pushing for visual warnings, which are believed to be much more effective smoking deterrents. (Cambodia - text only cigarette warnings starting July 2010..)

Cambodia has one of the highest rates of smoking in Southeast Asia – 48 percent of men and 3.6 percent of women over the age of 18 smoke cigarettes, and 17 percent of women and 1 percent of men chew tobacco, according to a 2005 survey that was published by the Ministry of Planning in 2009.

On Monday, September 20th the ministry sent out two letters – one thanking companies that were using the warnings, and another “urging” those that had missed the deadline to begin using them, Khun Sokrin said. In addition, he said, the ministry earlier this month aired a statement on Cambodia Television Network urging companies that have not complied to do so immediately. Officials have been delivering the same message on radio programmes over the past 10 days, he said. “The deadline has passed,” Khun Sokrin said.

Khun Sokrin said yesterday that he was not at liberty to disclose the number or names of firms that were not using the warnings.

However, Kun Lim, head of corporate affairs for British American Tobacco Cambodia (BATC), said this week that at least eight out of 14 major distributing companies were in violation of the sub-decree. “Enforcement is weak,” Kun Lim said. “I’d just appeal to the Ministry of Health and governing law agency to please step up, because it’s been a long time.”

Officials said last month that cigarette packages were still appearing on shelves without warnings because stores were unloading stock that had been delivered before the sub-decree went into effect. Kun Lim said at the time that it could take three or four months for all of the old stock to be sold off.

But Kun Lim said yesterday that some firms had yet to send new stock featuring the warnings to stores, citing reports from staffers sent out by BATC to observe incoming market and wholesale stock. Representatives of several of the eight firms identified by Kun Lim said yesterday that they had already complied with the sub-decree or that they would do so soon.

“Right now, the manufacturer has not put warnings on the packages, but we are still planning,” said Hen Lim, the Cambodian distributor for Hong Kong International Tobacco (HKIT), which manufactures brands such as Marce, Phnom Meas and Yellow Elephant. Hen Lim said that HKIT “supports” the new law “because it is a right for residents to know risks”.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an official at Go Well Tobacco International Pte Ltd – the distributor of the brands GD, Panda and Era White and Blue – said the company had already placed warnings on its stock.

The warnings are a component of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which Cambodia ratified in 2005.

September 22, 2010 - U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) jurisdiction over e-cigarettes..

ORAL ARGUMENT SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 23, 2010NO. 10-5032IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALSFOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUITSMOKING EVERYWHERE, INC.,SOTTERA, INC., d/b/a NJOY,Intervenor-Plaintiff-Appellee,v.U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, et al.,Defendants-Appellants.On Appeal From the United States District Court For the District of ColumbiaCivil Action No. 09-cv-0771 (RJL)

The FDA in February 2010 won a temporary delay of a U.S. judge’s ruling that the agency lacks authority to regulate the products as drugs or medical devices and must allow e-cigarettes to be imported. A panel of three appeals court judges temporarily stayed the lower court ruling in order to give them more time to consider the FDA's arguments.

The missing section was written as follow: ”Addictive substance as referred in section (1) includes tobacco; solid, liquid, and gas products that contain tobacco which are addictive and could harm its users and or their immediate surroundings.”

In March 2010 The Coalition Against Corruption of the Anti-Tobacco Clause said that the three House of Representatives (DPR) lawmakers, before ending their tenure last year, had ordered that the clause designating tobacco as an addictive substance be excised. “What we have are hard evidences and not just mere indications. We have a document signed by those people ordering the State Secretariat to ‘mutilate’ the clause,” said Kartono Muhammad, a member of the coalition, also known as Kakar.

On Monday, September 20, 2010 - The National Police again summoned two Health Ministry officials for more questioning over the alleged deliberate omission from the 2009 health bill of a clause addressing the dangers of tobacco.

Hakim Sorimuda Pohan, a former lawmaker from the Democratic Party now working with the Coalition Against Corruption of the Anti-Tobacco Clause (Kakar), said the National Police had told him that three legislators involved in the case had been named suspects. He named them as committee chairwoman Ribka Tjiptaning,﻿ from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and commission members Mariani Baramuli﻿ and Asiah Salekan﻿, from the Golkar Party.Brig. Gen. Saut Usman Nasution, the head of transnational crimes, no one had been named as a suspect as of yet, he said. “We have to be careful to determine if there was any violation of the law and who should be responsible,” Saut said. But Saut has denied the three have been named suspects. While the committee deliberating the bill dismissed the omission as a “technical error,” critics allege the clause was deliberately struck off to appease the powerful tobacco lobby.

Health Ministry spokesman Tritarayati said it was unlikely that the ministry officials were involved in the case because the final draft proposed by the ministry’s legal bureau had classified tobacco as an addictive substance. She said that the final draft was handed to the House in completed form and the ministry did not have any access to the draft after that. “We gave a draft bill to DPR and nothing was missing from it then,” Tritarayati said.

“After that the House of People's Representatives (DPR) handed the bill to the state secretary for it to be reported to the president. We no longer had access to the bill.” However, she said the ministry was ready to follow the legal process.

We will follow every single process.” Ribka who heads House Commission IX overseeing health affair, said on Tuesday that she was not a suspect and had never been called by the police over the matter. “The National Police have never summoned me for the tobacco law case,” she said.

San Francisco's public health department director says it sends the wrong message, especially to kids. Mitch Katz says drugstores should be selling healthy items because people go there to buy prescription drugs and other products that help them get better. He doesn't expect the law to persuade any current smokers to quit, but said it might prevent youths from starting.

September 22, 2010 - In time for the rain and harsh weather of autumn, the Catch Collection is introducing its final flavor for the year, Ease, with a combination of spicy warm ginger and fresh orange.

The flavors in Catch Collection are only available for a limited period of time. Mellow, with a rhubarb flavor, was introduced earlier this year followed by Glow, with a taste of elder and lime. Now it’s time to add the final flavor to the pallet, the orange and ginger of Ease.

“Ease is an interesting combination of summer flavors and warm aromas that are ideal now that autumn is making its presence felt,” says Mediha Budak Gustafsson, Brand Manager Catch.

Catch Collection Ease has a mild tobacco character, with a distinct hint of ginger and orange. It will be available in stores from August. The portion pouches are in mini format and a can contains about 20 pouches and costs approximately SEK 30.www.catchcollection.se/a>

These ingredients are laboratory produced compounds ranging from sweetners, sugars and flavours such as menthol, maltol and vanillin, used to improve the palatability of tobacco.

Burley -- a popular tobacco type in British American Tobacco markets (especially the US) is the most common type grown in the Comesa region -- mainly in eastern and southern African countries of Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique -- and which requires blending. Scientists claim that smoke from burley tobacco tends to have a harsh taste during curing, necessitating use of ingredients like glucose, menthol and ginger, or blending it with other types to tone down its character.

A ban of the manufacture of the blending compounds would mean a loss of market for Comesa-grown tobacco, and a loss for farmers.

URGED Member States which are Parties to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) to urgently write to the WHO FCTC before the Conference of Parties (CoP) opposing the recommended ban of ingredients for blended tobacco proposed in the guidelines on Articles 9 and 10.

URGED Member States which are parties to the FCTC to urgently write to the Secretariat of the FCTC before the COP meeting pointing out the inadequacy of the policy options on alternative livelihoods to tobacco growing (Article 17 and 18) because they are based on wrong assumptions and do not provide mechanisms to support the diversification from tobacco

FURTHER URGED Member States to request, in their submissions, that the FCTC put in place proper consultation mechanisms for all affected stakeholders to participate in any future development of FCTC guidelines.

For most of Comesa, whose member states are struggling to get out of poverty through agriculture, implementing the WHO guidelines would mean a loss of livelihood for many tobacco growers who have no immediate alternative, hence a crippling of national economies.According to the association, part of the problem is that WHO officials in Geneva do not have a sufficient understanding of how important the tobacco industry is to many African countries, and the disastrous consequences its ban will have for many of these countries.

Apart from hundreds of thousands of African tobacco-producing farmers being pushed out of business, the WHO has not sufficiently addressed viable agricultural alternatives.

September 21, 2010 - The fourth session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) will be held at the conference centre of the Conrad Hotel in Punta del Este, Uruguay. It will open at 10:00 on Monday, 15 November 2010, and is expected to close no later than 13:00 on Saturday, 20 November 2010.

September 21, 2010 - For the first time since Ukraine became World Trade Organization (WTO) member, it has requested that the WTO Dispute Settlement Body establish a panel to settle a dispute with Armenia over less favorable conditions for the import of Ukrainian tobacco and alcohol than those of national origin.

According to the WTO, Ukraine asks that this request be placed on the agenda of the next meeting of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body that will take place on September 21, 2010. According to Ukraine, it was impossible to resolve the dispute through consultations. (ARMENIA – MEASURES AFFECTING THE IMPORTATION ANDINTERNAL SALE OF CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES Request for Consultations by Ukraine, 7/22/2010)"In case a country refuses from consultations or does not start them, a WTO member that has placed a request for the consultations has the right, under Article 4.3 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, to immediately request the establishment of a panel to settle a dispute," Andrii Zablotskyi, an associate from the Volkov Koziakov & Partners law firm, told Interfax-Ukraine. He also said that following examination, the panel issues recommendations to the county which has violated the WTO agreements under which the country should bring its legislation in line with the WTO standards.

Ukraine alleged that Armenia's law "On Presumptive Tax for Tobacco Products" of March 24, 2000, levies discriminatory internal taxes on imported tobacco products and is therefore in violation of Article III of the GATT 1994 and paragraph 1.2 of Armenia's Protocol of Accession to the WTO. Moreover, the law imposes customs duties on such imported tobacco products at a rate of 24%, which is higher than Armenia's WTO bound rate of 15%.

September 21, 2010 - The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE has notified the FDA that the smoking initiation/cessation studies identified by the FDA and reviewed by CRE can not be used to formulate a policy on menthol cigarettes.